Ex-Council Chairmen, Others In Niger State Besieged Ministry of Local Government Over Unpaid N1.7 Billion Allowances

• Hold 2 Permanent Secretaries Hostage

Ex-local government vice chairmen, secretaries and councillors from 25 local government areas of Niger State numbering 499 yesterday besieged the State Ministry of Local Government, holding the two permanent secretaries of the ministry hostage for failure to pay their severance and furniture allowances.

The former local government officials carrying placards with the inscription “Pay us our severance and furniture allowances”, locked the two permanent secretaries, Mallam Mohammed Rijau and Alhaji Musa Ijah, in the Conference Room of the ministry for about four hours.

They held the two permanent secretaries hostage from 10:30am till about 2:30pm and occupied the premises of the ministry located within the new state secretariat along Suleja-Minna road.

LEADERSHIP gathered that the entitlement of the vice chairmen, secretaries and councillors is running to about N3.5million each, bringing the total amount payable to them to about N1.7billion.

It was learnt that the councillors were the ones that left office between 2008 and 2014 who are yet to be paid their allowances as contained in the state Local Government Law 2001 as amended in 2011.

The leader of the group, Mallam Yahaya Shehu, who spoke to journalists, said the government had earlier paid N1.1million to each councillor for furniture allowance remaining a balance of N1.4million.

Shehu said, “We are 274 councillors, 175 supervisory councillors, 25 vice chairmen and 25 secretaries that are being owed by the state government. We were compelled to call an emergency meeting on 27th April, 2015 over the impending balance of our severance and furniture allowances”.

“We have made many write-ups and appeals considering the terrible condition we are all in, which we have stated in our several letters and courtesy calls on the commissioner for local government affairs, the secretary to the state government, speakers of Niger State House of Assembly and the leadership of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria”.

Shehu however said that “All we received are deceitful assurances and promises and the total amount owed each of us is N3.5 million and if you multiply it by 499 of us I am sure you will get over N1.7 billion”.

Also reacting one of the Permanent secretaries Alhaji Musa Ijah said that he was aware of the entitlement of the ex-councilors but declined to speak further on the issue because he has no mandate to speak on it as a civil servant.

Source: Leadership.ng